Italian-American Lasagna Recipe

My Family's Lasagna Recipe

I grew up in an Italian American family and although I am fortunate that I get to travel to Italy often and learn the traditional recipes there, Italian American cooking is what I love most.

Much like other Italian Americans, our recipes not only come from all different parts of Italy (with many family recipe variations) but many of the recipes have been adapted to what ingredients were local and available here in the U.S when our family came to this country.

This Italian American lasagna recipe is exactly this type of recipe. It is not a lasagna Bolognese with Bechamel sauce that is traditional in Italy. It was my grandmother's lasagna recipe that she adapted when she moved here.

It is made up of meat sauce, cottage cheese instead of ricotta (trust me on this, it is good!), lasagna noodles and lots of cheese. You can also use ricotta in the recipe if you prefer. I have tried it with great success and nothing changes at all with the recipe except that.

This recipe has always been a favorite dinner of mine growing up and much like a lasagne bolognese, it takes a little time to put together (if you want a quicker baked pasta, my spinach stuffed shells are great) but it is always well worth it! We like to enjoy this lasagna on Sundays for our Italian family get-togethers and on ALL holidays along with baked rigatoni.

How to make Italian-American Lasagna

Here are step-by-step photos showing you how to make this lasagna. For the full ingredients list, instructions, and quantities, you can scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Prep Ingredients. I like to make my Italian meat sauce for this recipe which is so full of flavor. I usually do this ahead of time so I am only assembling the lasagna. After the sauce is made then I make the cottage cheese mixture that goes between the layers of lasagna noodles.

First layer is meat sauce: I always ladle a thin layer of meat sauce in my lasagna pan before adding anything else. This is the first layer.

The second layer is lasagna noodles: Now I add lasagna noodles on top of the meat sauce making sure they do not overlap so they cook evenly. For this recipe, I used dried lasagna egg noodles that do not need to be pre-cooked before baking.

Note about cooking the lasagna noodles: You want to check the manufacturer's instructions on whether the noodles need pre-cooking before layering the lasagna. If your lasagna noodles need to be pre-cooked, I have an entire post on how to cook lasagna noodles that I know you will find helpful! Do not start the lasagna until you know what type of lasagna noodles you are working with.

Third layer is cottage cheese mixture and Parmesan: This is the cheese mixture you prepared earlier (above).

Repeat the layers: I repeat the layering until the meat sauce and cottage cheese mixture is used up. You will have 3-4 layers depending on the size of the baking dish you use. I like to use a 9x11 dish to get 4 layers.

Top with more cheese: Now is when you add the fresh sliced mozzarella, shredded mozzarella and shredded Parmesan cheese. This is the delicious bubbly golden brown cheese crust that everyone loves in a lasagna.

Bake: Bake the lasagna in a preheated 375-degree oven (on the middle rack) for about 35-40 minutes or until the cheese on the top is golden brown.

Making Lasagna Ahead Of Time

Italians love making baked dishes like this lasagna or even chicken Parmesan ahead of time. It allows the cheese and ingredients to come together so well. I like to make the lasagna on the weekend then bring it to room temperature and refrigerate it for later in the week.

It is excellent this way and great if you are short on time during the week. To reheat the lasagna, just place it covered with aluminum foil in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 30-40 minutes or until heated through.

Make sure you are using a baking dish that will not crack under temperature changes (going from the cold fridge to a hot oven). Pyrex baking dishes are perfect for this type of recipe.

You can freeze the lasagna after it cools as well. Just defrost in the fridge overnight.